Device for fitting to a loom for the removal of yarn residue from bobbins



Dec. 22, 1964 3,161,940

G. RGHL DEVICE FOR FITTING TO A LOOM FOR THE REMOVAL OF YARN RESIDUE FROM BOBBINS Filed June 1, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 5H 2 i. M

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DEVICE FOR FITTING TO A LOOM FOR THE REMOVAL OF YARN RESIDUE FROM BOBBINS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1, 1962 Fig 3 Dec. 22, 1964 G. ROHL DEVICE FOR FITTING TO A LOOM FOR THE REMOVAL 0F YARN RESIDUE FROM BOBBINS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 1, 1962 m llr W firllv .n- 1 fi y. a v 07/ 3 L i United States Patent 3,161,94tl DnVICE FOR rrrrmo T0 A LGOM FQR THE RE- MUJAL 0F YARN RESlDUE FRGM BOEBINS Georg E6111, 1 Haidschiagweg, Regensburg, Germany Filed June 1, 1962, Ser. No. 199,484 Claims priority, application Germany dune 9, 1961 14 Claims. (Cl. 28-49) This invention relates to the removal of yarn residue from bobbins used in looms. Pneumatic suction devices are known for this purpose but such devices do not operate automatically nor can they be fixed directly to a loom. It is the object of the present invention to permit reliable removal of the yarn residue from bobbins by means of a device which handles the bobbins automatically directly as they emerge from the loom.

According to the present invention a device of this character has a downwardly inclined track for receiving spent bobbins directly from the loom, down which the bobbins can slide with their heads uppermost, and a vertical tubular casting fitted at its lower end with a suction device is spaced beneath the end of the track by a distance at least equal to the length of the bob bin stem; the upper end of the casing is fitted with a spacer for engaging the head of a bobbin to provide an annular suction opening between the top of the easing and the head of the bobbin and the device also ineludes mechanism for lifting a bobbin out of the casing after the removal of the yarn residue by the effect of the suction. Accordingly the bobbins emerging from the loom pass automatically down the inclined track and thence to the casing for removal of the yarn residue by suction after which they are removed again from the casing, Thus, the operation is entirely automatic and the yarn residue is removed with certainty. The provision of the spacer to provide the annular suction opening increases air flow over the whole periphery of the yarn residue, thus ensuring rapid and uniform unwinding of the yarn. Moreover, the device as a whole is so compact that it can very conveniently be secured directly to the side of the loom.

Preferably the tubular casing has substantially uniform diarneter along the greater part of its length but at its upper end the inner surface is flared outwardly to form a conical enlargement. This forms a space for the reception or" the yarn residue and permits the stem of the bobbi to fit snugly within the body of the casing. The spacer may be formed with an elongated slot and may be held in position by means of a screw passing though the slot. This permits vertical adjustment of the spacer and hence of the width of the suction opening thus permitting corresponding adjustment of the stream of air acting on the yarn residue.

A construction in accordance with the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the device;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation;

FIG. 3 is an elevation of a tubular suction casing forming part of the device and with a bobbin in position;

PEG. 4 is a sectional view through the casing of FIG. 3, viewed at right angles to PEG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation, drawn to an enlarged scale, a part of the device with a cover removed;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the assembly shown in FIG. 5;

PEG. 7 is a side elevation of the assembly shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view similar to H6. 4, showing additional details.

The device according to the invention is secured directly to a loom by brackets 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2), either to the end plate or to the bobbin-box holder, depending upon the available space, so that a receiving funnel 2 for the bobbins is disposed opposite the ejection station of the shuttle. From the funnel 2 the empty bobbin with the yarn residue on it travels along a downwardly inclined guide track 3 to a retarding and stop device at a point 4. The guide track 3 comprises two slide bars 3 (FIG. 6) secured to the Walls of a casing 5, the inside spacing of the bars being less than the diameter of the head 6 of the bobbin 6 and larger than the diameter of that part of the bobbin stem 6 which follows the bobbin head 6"; consequently, when the bobbins drop onto track 3, the stem 6 drops through the track while the head 6" stays thereon, the bobbins sliding down the track 3 by gravity, with their stems hanging down. The guide track 3 has a downward step at the point 4- and terminates in a horizontal part 7 where the bobbins stop.

Secured to the casing wall 5 near the point i is a microswitch 32 (FIGS. 5-7), comprising a resilient arm 8 which has a widened part 8' extending through a recess 33 in wall 5 and which is disposed at some distance above the adjacent slide bar 3. When a bobbin drops on to the shoulder 7, the spring 8 is depressed with the result that microswitch 32 is closed.

From the point 4 the bobbin is advanced, by a feed device to be described later, to a point 9 for the removal of the yarn residue where the slide bars 3' terminate so that the bobbin 5 can fall freely.

A tubular casing It} is situated below the point 9 at least at a spacing corresponding to the length of the bobbin stem 6' and this casing serves as a suction device for the yarn residue and takes the form of a tubular memher which is of the same external diameter throughout its length. At its top end the casing ltl widens conically upwards, as denoted by reference numeral 10 (FIG. 4), while at its bottom end the casing 19 widens conically downwards, as denoted by reference numeral 10'. There is therefore space at the top end for the yarn residue and at the bottom end for the unwinding balloon.

A. spacer it formed with an elongated slot 12 is secured to the top of the casing it) by a screw 13 so as to be adjustable axially. The spacer Ill has a radially bent part 11 engaging below the bobbin head 6" or below the lowermost one of the guide rings 14 secured to head 6". The presence of the spacer Ill, 11 means that, below the bobbin head 6 but above the yarn residue on the bobbin stem 6', there is an annular suction space between the top edge 18 of the casing 10 and the bottom end of the bobbin head 6", and the size of this space can be adjusted by adjustment of the spacer Ill. By reason of this continuous peripheral space, the suction produced by a blower (not shown) in a casing 16, which is connected to the bottom end of casing it? through a flexible hose i5, is uniformly operative on the whole periphery of the yarn residue and the yarn has an equal suction force applied to its whole periphery.

Adjacent casing it is an upwardly working endless belt 17 having stirrups 18, the two arms 18' (FIG. 7) of each stirrup being spaced apart from one another by a distance which is less than the diameter of the bobbin head 6" but greater than the diameter of the top stern part 6'. The stirrups 18 engage the head 6" of the bobbin 6 from which the yarn residue has been removed, so that the bobbin is lifted out of the casing it and carried upwards to an ejection track 19 (FIG. 1) whence the empty bobbins can drop into a container.

The bobbins e are fed from the point 4- to the removal point 9 by means of two levers 2t and 21 (FIGS. 5-7) which are disposed above one another and which are moved, through the intermediary of bevel gears, by stops 34 on the conveyor belt 17. The two levers 2t and 21 are secured to a shaft 22 carrying a bevel gear 24 in a casing 23. The bevel gear 24 meshes with a bevel gear 25 on an input shaft 2s perpendicular to the shaft 22, a bent end 27 of shaft 26 lying in the path of the stops 34. Each lever 2b, 21 comprises two angularly adjoining arms 20', 29'' and 2-1, 21"; the arm 28' feeds each bobbin to the ejection point 9, while the arm 29" and the arm 21 retard and stop the sliding bobbin 6. The shaft 22 is returned by a spring 28 into the inoperative position of the arm 26', so that the stop arms 20", 21" lie above the track for the bobbin 6 and stop the bobbin on the horizontal surface 7. When, as the conveyor belt 17 rises on the left-hand side of FIGS. 1 and 5, one of the stops 34 engages the bent part 27, the input shaft 26 and therefore the shaft 22 are rotated by the bevel gears 24, 25 so that the two levers 2t 21 are rotated clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 6), the stop arms 29', 21" open the path for the bobbin 6, and the arms 29, 21' feed the bobbin 6 to the removal point 9. When the stop 34 has passed the bent part 27, the levers 2b, 21 are turned back anticlockwise by the return spring 28 so that arm 26' is pivoted outwards and the stop arm 2%" blocks the track 3 again.

Another switch 35 is secured to the casing wall 5 and has a resilient actuating arm 36 extending into the path of the stops 34.

The endless conveyor belt 17 runs over bottom and top rollers 29 and .36 respectively, the bottom roller 29 being driven by an electric motor 31. Another electric motor (not shown) is provided to drive the blower and is disposed in the casing 16. The two motors areturned on and off by the switches 32 and 35 and the circuit may include an air-break contactor or a time relay.

The device operates as follows:

When the bobbin 6 advancing along the track 3 drops on to the horizontal surface 7, the bobbin is held at the top and bottom by the arm 20" and by the arm 21", while the enlarged head 6' of the bobbin depresses the spring 8. The microswitch 32 is therefore closed and the two motors for driving the conveyor belt 17 and the blower are started. A stop 34 on belt 17 strikes the bent part 27 of the input shaft 26, and one bobbin 6 is moved to the removal point 9 by the arms 20', 21 and drops into the casing or tube 19. Since the blower motor, constituting an air-aspirator means has been switched on, the yarn residue is removed by suction. The next stirrup 18 engages the top of the cleared bobbin and carries it upwards. The next stop 34 strikes the resilient actuating arm 35 of the switch 35 and switches off the two motors. If another bobbin 6 has meanwhile reached the station 4, the circuit is reclosed and the stop 34 which has operated the switch 35 strikes the bent part 27 as it continues its rising movement and conveys the next bobbin 6 to the casing 10. The reason for having two levers 29, 21 at a distance from one another is to ensure that the bobbin is advanced parallel to itself and without any tilting.

If required, the bottom roller 29 can be driven from the loom through a flexible drive. I

As will be apparent from the foregoing description, the abutments 34 on belt 17 serve as timing devices to correlate the motion of the swingable feed members 29, 21 with the operation of the grippers 18 which extract the partly inserted bobbin from the suction tube of air aspirator 16.

I claim:

1. A device adapted to be fitted to a loom for the removal of yarn residue from bobbins, the device comthe bobbin stem, the upper end of the casing being fitted with a spacer for engaging the head of a bobbin to provide an annular suction opening between the top of the casing and the head of the bobbin; and mechanism for lifting a bobbin out of the casing after the removal of the yarn residue by the effect of the suction.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the tubular casing has substantially uniform diameter along the greater part of its length but at its upper end the inner surface is flared outwardly to form a conical enlargement.

3. A device according to claim 1 in which the spacer is formed with an elongated slot and is held in position by means of a screw passing through the slot to permit vertical adjustment and hence adjustment of the width of the suction opening.

4. A device according to claim 1 in which the mechanism for lifting the bobbins out of the casing takes the form of an endless conveyor belt carrying stirrups whose arms are at a spacing greater than the diameter of the stem but less than the diameter of the head of a bobbin.

5. A device according to claim 4 including, at the end of the downwardly inclined track, a m chanism for stopping the bobbins and for subsequently feeding them to the vertical casing.

6. A device according to claim 5 in which the mechanism for stopping the bobbins comprises a portion of horizontal guide track at the end of the inclined track together with a swingable member for engaging each successive bobbin.

7. A device according to claim 6 in which said swingable member is controlled by a stop on the endless conveyor belt and is normally held in an inoperative position by a spring.

8. A device according to clahn 7 in which said member is mounted on a shaft which is driven through bevel gearing from a further shaft having a transverse end portion mounted in the path of the stop on the conveyor belt so as to be rocked by the latter and thus to rock the feed arm.

9. A device according to claim 8 in which a second swingable member is mounted on said driven shaft at a distance from the first member.

10. A device according to claim 6 in which said swingable member is a lever having a stop arm connected to a feed arm, the two arms being arranged at an angle to one another so that the stop arm engages a bobbin on the inclined track while the feed arm lies outside the guide track when in its inoperative position.

11. A device according to claim 4 in which a resilient arm is mounted adjacent the end of the inclined track so as to be acted on by a bobbin and thus to operate a switch controlling motor means for driving the endless conveyor belt and the suction device.

12. In a loom, a device for removing yarn residue from spent bobbins comprising;

guide means for directing each spent bobbin along a predetermined path;

a suction tube disposed at a given location along said path for receiving with clearance the stem of a bobbin arriving at said location;

spacer means adjacent said location engageable with the head of the bobbin for limiting the penetration of said stem into said tube;

air-aspirating means connected with said tube;

feed means positively engageable with the bobbin ahead of said location for advancing the bobbin toward said tube;

mechanism for extracting the bobbin from said tube upon removal of its yarn residue by said air-aspirating means; and

timer means for correlating the operation of said mechanism'with that of said feed means.

13. A device as defined in claim 12, further comprising bobbin-controlled first switch means for starting said airaspirating and timer means upon the approach of a bobbin to said location, and timer-controlled second switch means for deactivating said air-aspirating and timer means upon the subsequent extraction of the bobbin from said tube.

14. A device as defined in claim 13 wherein said timer means comprises an endless belt provided with abutment means for successively actuating said feed means and said second switch means, said mechanism including at least one gripper element on said belt engageable with the head of a bobbin projecting from said tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Smart et a1 June 22, 1915 Goodhue et a1 May 19, 1953 Stutz June 11, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Nov. 20, 1935 Great Britain Feb. 10, 1913 

1. A DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE FITTED TO A LOOM FOR THE REMOVAL OF YARN RESIDUE FROM BOBBINS, THE DEVICE COMPRISING A DOWNWARDLY INCLINED TRACK FOR RECEIVING BOBBINS FROM THE LOOM, DOWN WHICH THE BOBBINS CAN SLIDE WITH THEIR HEADS UPPERMOST; A VERTICAL TUBULAR CASING FITTED AT ITS LOWER END WITH A SUCTION DEVICE SPACED BENEATH THE END OF THE TRACK BY A DISTANCE AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE LENGTH OF THE BOBBIN STEM, THE UPPER END OF THE CASING BEING FITTED WITH A SPACER FOR ENGAGING THE HEAD OF A BOBBIN TO PROVIDE AN ANNULAR SUCTION OPENING BETWEEN THE TOP OF THE CASING AND THE HEAD OF THE BOBBIN; AND MECHANISM FOR LIFTING A BOBBIN OUT OF THE CASING AFTER THE REMOVAL OF THE YARN RESIDUE BY THE EFFECT OF THE SUCTION. 